Craig

colern - we were "on the ground" in India from February 19th to March 1st. Daytime temperatures ranged from about 60F - 80F but it was chillier when when got up before dawn to see the Taj and it was downright cold (40F?) in the mornings at Ranthambore. It is best to dress in layers: T-shirt under crew neck shirt under lightweight fleece jacket worked for me. At Ranthambore I could have used a winter coat - it is very cold in the open jeep. Some people wore hat and gloves. I wore an extra sweater under my jacket and that was not enough. Note that it was 90F in Delhi about a week after we left so you have to be prepared for anything.

waynehazle

Craig,

What a great report, but um... I don't think I ever saw your pictures

Craig

Wayne - click on this for the photos:

http://craigandjeane.photosite.com/India/

colern

Thanks for your reply Craig. I appreciate the advise. I guess I will have to pack "like a BoyScout" and be prepared for a wide range of temperatures..Again, great post. Any pictures?

Craig

colem - you must have posted while I was. See the link to the pictures on the post before yours.

albaaust

Great report Craig..we are still looking for another place to visit as a "celebration" holiday..it could be India

colern

Hi Craig -- Thanks again for your account of your India trip. I re-read it again today and looked at your pictures. It makes me more excited for our trip!!

I noticed that Jeane was intent on ruby jewelry -- any advice on where to get a quality piece at a good price. Some of the info I have read says to wait till Jaipur - Gem Palace -- but I noticed you finally decided upon a piece in Dehli. Any advise would be appreciated as I too am interested in purchasing a necklace and earrings for myself.

If it is not too forward can I ask what prices are on pieces there or approx. what you ended paying and what sort of discount your were able to negotiate.

Thanks ---

Craig

colern, I think we paid about $1500 for the necklace/earring set and about $3000 for the bracelet. We recently had them appraised and the gems are all real. In the bracelet the gold alone is worth more than $3,000 and it is studded with rubies so we know we got a good deal. As you can tell from our report, we did a lot of looking before we bought and we are glad we did not make any purchases in Jaipur. Jaipur may be a better place to buy loose stones but that is not what we were looking for.

Ravissant Jewelers is recommended in the book "Treasures and Pleasures of India" - I don't recall whether Regency was or not. I highly recommend reading T&P if you plan on buying items of quality in India. From our experience, for jewelry shopping, your best bet is to hit the arcades at the big hotels - Oberoi, Hyatt etc. - this is where most of the top reputable Delhi jewelry stores have opened branches. Hope this helps.

Craig

One more thing, colern - do NOT shop with a guide unless you want to pay extra for commissions. You will need a driver to get around Delhi - you can hire one through your hotel or possibly through your travel agent. It helps if you and the driver have cell phones so you can contact the driver when you need him. Do not let the driver try to convince you to go to any shops he recommends.

mark1230

craig what do you like at jaipur as i am a resident of jaipur and i want to hear from you the truth you feel by coming here.
hopefully you have loved my jaipur - the pinkcity of india

http://www.myjaipur.bravehost.com

Craig

mark - Jaipur was wonderful. We enjoyed the Amber Fort, City Palace, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. We found that the government craft store, Rajasthali was good for one-stop shopping for small gifts for friends at home.

Ericka

Sounds like a lovely time! How did your tummy's fare?

linhelen

Craig..Thanks so much for the photos! I can't wait to go on my trip in Nov. Going to the same places plus Bharatpur and Bandhavgarh. I have to purchase a digital camera. Any advice on that re zoom capabilities?

Craig

Ericka - our tummies fared just fine with the exception of my tummy's temporary reaction to the antimalarial Malerone.

linhelen - We used cameras with 3x and 6x optical zoom lenses. The camera with 3x lens was mine and would fit in my pocket. Jeane had the camera with the 6x lens - it is too big to fit in ones pocket - all of the tiger photos you saw were taken with that camera. My camera is a Canon A95. Jeane's was an older Fuji Finepix model which she has now replaced with a digital SLR camera.

linhelen

Thanks for the camera info. Now that you mention the Malarone, I understand you are supposed to take it 3 days before arrival. I wonder if that will be enough time to "react" if you are going to react...or whether it would be a good idea to ask for a supply of the doxycycline too. Hard to anticipate these things...

Craig

If you did a survey of the people on this board, you would find that most people do not have side effects from taking Malerone - I can tell you that it was not sufficient time to "react". If you are worried about that though, go for the doxy - its only disadvantage other than increased skin sensitivity to the sun is that you must take it for a much longer time than Malerone.

rhkkmk

my malerone script is for one day before arrival, for the full stay and for one week after leaving the malaria area...